Google senior engineer predicts open-source AI will disrupt its dominance

It’s no secret that ever since the launch of ChatGPT and Microsoft’s efforts to integrate the chatbot into its various services, Google, for the first time in decades, has feared its domination. And although Google has also ramped up its efforts in language processing AI, senior engineer Luke Sernau believes that the open-source community could pose a greater threat to the company.

Sernau argues that the open-source community, which includes researchers not affiliated with tech companies, is making faster discoveries and advancements in AI than Google and OpenAI. Additionally, these open-sourced AI models are not only cheaper but also faster, more adaptable to clients’ needs, and more adjustable to different environments than AI models from larger companies.

“People will not pay for a restricted model when free, unrestricted alternatives are comparable in quality. We should consider where our value add really is. Giant models are slowing us down. In the long run, the best models are the ones which can be iterated upon quickly,” recommended Sernau.

Collaboration is key

Sernau concludes that Google’s best hope is to collaborate and learn from what others are doing outside the company. While Google’s models still have an edge, Sernau argues the gap is quickly closing, and the company won’t be able to catch up.

“Open-source models are faster, more customizable, more private, and pound-for-pound more capable. We have no secret sauce. Our best hope is to learn from and collaborate with what others are doing outside Google,” said Sernau.

While Senau’s remarks are concerning, it is important to note that this is not an official company strategy document, but rather an internal document typical at Google, where there is a culture of information sharing and debate among the engineering and tech community. However, it is clear that Google is facing increasing pressure from competitors such as Microsoft, which has already integrated its Bing AI chatbot into many of its Office products, as well as from the open-source community, which is rapidly catching up.